Only 1 in 3 Surveyed Jewelers Hold Sales Contests

question:

Do you hold sales contests for your staff?

Yes: 35%

• Fun contests, no serious competition but good reward. I don’t want to create a more stressful environment for my staff. — Nathan George, Joshua’s Fine Jewelry, Russellville, AR
• We play “Pass the Honey.” On a busy Saturday, I give $100 bill to the first person who makes a sale, then they have to pass it to anyone who makes a sale larger than theirs. At the end of the day, the salesperson with the largest sale keeps the “honey.” — Dianna Rae High, Dianna Rae Jewelry, Lafayette, LA
• To motivate them and to have some FUN. One of the many contests we are doing is Christmas Bingo. This one is held with six other jewelry stores around the USA. Big prizes here (NOT). Just bragging rights. Just a small sampling of the bingo squares include, “I’m a Good Customer”, “Day Drinker”, “Jewelry Licker” and “Smell them before you see them” … It’s a lot of fun. — Doug Meadows, David Douglas Diamonds & Jewelry, Marietta, GA
• We do, but in specific, sporadic and fun ways with special thought to try not to create unhealthy competition between our team members. — Jennifer Hornik Johnson, Miller’s Jewelry, Bozeman, MT
• We have bingo cards where each square represents a service or a sale in a different area of the store. It trains and keeps all areas top-of-mind and staff earn money filling out their bingo card! — Debbie Fox, Fox Fine Jewelry, Ventura, CA
• Some extra incentive to reward them for their creativity and hard work. — Georgie Gleim, Gleim the Jeweler, Palo Alto, CA
• Our staff is highly competitive, and they have a lot of fun with contests. — Dorothy Vodicka, The Gem Collection, Tallahassee, FL
• Sometimes I put “bounties” on old or slow-moving items to move it. — Krystal Shiklanian, Radiant Fine Jewelry, Plymouth, MI
• We do Customer Bingo to make the days fly by and line their pockets. I got a finger licker today! The laughter and the banter are worth the day it takes to design and print the random square cards. $100 to whoever wins. Then we start again … so much fun and great rivalry. Never saw employees try so hard for the goofball clients. Add-ons — that will add on to your check with a loftier percentage commission bonus. Be creative, have fun, be the best team because you can be. Make it so No. 1! The holidays are supposed to be F U N! — Denise Oros, Linnea Jewelers, La Grange, IL
• We run five different contests! Total sales, team sales, gross profit margin, most aged, appointments. — Tom Duma, Thom Duma Fine Jewelers, Warren, OH

No: 65%

• I should, but I neglect this part of my business. This question reminded me to get to work on running a sales contest. They are motivating and fun. — Howard Knopf, Robert Irwin Jewelers, Memphis, TN
• I pretty much am the sales staff. Sometimes I look at a piece and say, “This week, you must find a new home.” — Ellie Thompson, Ellie Thompson + Co., Chicago, IL
• I want them to be a team, not competing with each other. Do not “steal” a customer that is known to be seeking a particular staff member. — Gary Richmond, Van Horne & Co., Granger, IN
• It’s a family business, so we don’t compete with each other. — Arturo Carrera, Eclipse Jewelry, San Diego, CA
• My team does not do well with individual spiffs — they get sharky or scared about it. Team commissions and rewards have always done better if we did anything like a contest. — Kyle Bullock, Bullock’s Jewelry, Roswell, NM
• I’ve tried contests several times. No positive results. — Peter Tims, White Mountain Jewelers, Show Low, AZ
• From a consultation with Shane Decker, I learned what motivates me as well as staff … competitive sales contests were not on the list. We’re helpers and doers. And I’m much more spontaneous, so I’d rather surprise them with a gift card or time off for a business goal I couldn’t have achieved without them. However, our daily goal is to sell more as a team than last year, celebrate every sale and give each other feedback often through each day … things like, “I love how you shopped for this customer while I was meeting with them… I can’t wait to show them the diamonds they wanted to see as well as surprise them with a gift you found (which we brought in in memo) that he may want to give before the engagement ring is ready for pickup.” Setting daily goals, learning from each other, celebrating our collective success, giving an in-store customer experience like no other they’ve had … that’s our motivation to excel. — Jill Keith, Enchanted Jewelry, Danielson, CT
• It’s very important that the staff works together. In my opinion, a contest would pit the staff against each other. Can’t have that. I worked in a commission-based store and hated it. We were all against each other. Team atmosphere is very important. — Michael Kanoff, Michael’s Jewelers, Yardley, PA
• I am the sales staff! I would appreciate a simple high five for my custom sales closings from my business partner, but even that rarely happens. — Jo Goralski, The Jewelry Mechanic, Oconomowoc, WI
• We don’t, mainly because I don’t want a competitive environment behind the scenes that could potentially create an uncomfortable situation for a client. — John Thomas Mead, John Thomas Jewelers, Albuquerque, NM
• We act like one big family where everyone helps everyone. No commission, no fighting, no empty paychecks. It is a much less stressed environment. — Ellie Mickey, DBS Fine Jewelers, St. Michaels, MD
• They don’t need a contest to produce more sales; they want the end-of-month commission check. — Greg Tidwell, Bell Jewelers, Murfreesboro, TN
• We all wear many hats and fill in various positions throughout the store. It would be unfair to offer a sales contest that would favor whomever spends more time on the floor versus making jewelry in our workshops. — Rebecca Larson, Barry Peterson Jewelers, Ketchum, ID
• Just me and my wife, so of course I would let her win. — Rick Nichols, Nassau Jewelry, Fernandina Beach, FL